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Tag: field sales

  • Mastering Sales Skills: A Practical Guide for Sales Professionals

    Mastering Sales Skills: A Practical Guide for Sales Professionals

    When people hear sales skills, they often picture pushy salespeople or nonstop cold calls. That’s not what good sales is about. Strong sales skills are about connecting with people, understanding what they need, and helping them make choices that work for them.

    Whether you are new to sales or have years of experience, improving your sales expertise skills can make a real difference in your results. Some small changes in how you communicate, listen, and manage your time can add up to better client relationships and more closed deals. Here are some of the best sales skills every sales professional should develop and ways to apply them in real situations.

    Why mastering sales skills matters for a sales professional?

    Success in any profession starts with mastering sales skills. The right approach can make a big difference in your results. Think back to when you were a kid trying to convince your parents to get you ice cream. You were practicing sales skills without even realizing it.

    Everyone has some level of sales skills, but honing them intentionally sets top performers apart. To help you grow and succeed, here are 10 sales skills that can strengthen your abilities and improve your professional life.

    10 Essential Sales Skills Every Professional Should Learn

    Listen More Than You Talk

    This seems simple, but many people overlook listening as a sales professional skill. Think about it. In a conversation, who do you remember more- the person who talked nonstop or the one who actually listened?

    Active listening is a key part of strong sales skills. Don’t just wait for your turn to speak. Ask questions, nod, and pay attention to what the client says. For example, if a client mentions problems with delivery times, don’t jump straight into a product pitch. Take time to understand the issue. They will notice, and you can suggest a solution that really works for them.

    Follow Up Thoughtfully

    One of the best sales skills is following up in a way that feels natural. Following up isn’t pestering. It’s showing that you care.

    After a client buys a product, you can send a quick message to see how it’s working for them. You might also share a tip that helps them use it better. Small, thoughtful follow-ups strengthen relationships and can lead to referrals. Clients remember when you take the time to check in.

    Know When to Speak and When to Stay Silent

    Timing matters in sales. I often tell my trainees that you don’t need to fill every silence. Let clients explain their needs first before sharing your ideas.

    It’s like talking with friends over dinner. You listen to understand, not just to reply. If you interrupt or over-explain, you risk losing trust. Balancing listening and speaking is a quiet but important part of sales expertise skills.

    Manage Your Time Wisely

    Time management is an important sales professional skill. You only have so many hours in a day, so how you spend them matters.

    Some sales reps spend hours manually entering data or updating spreadsheets that could be automated. Tools like field force automation can help by keeping client info organized and scheduling visits. This frees up time to focus on meeting clients, understanding their needs, and closing deals.

    Focus on tasks that make a real impact rather than staying busy for the sake of it. Managing your time well improves productivity and helps you get better results.

    Do Your Homework

    You can’t sell something you don’t understand. Researching clients, competitors, and market trends is an important part of strong sales skills.

    Before a meeting, take time to check the client’s website, recent news, or social media updates. Learn about their challenges and the trends in their industry. Being prepared helps you speak confidently and show that you understand their situation. It also allows you to offer solutions that actually make sense for them.

    Small efforts in preparation can make a big difference in how clients perceive you and how effective your sales professional skills are.

    Solve Problems, Don’t Just Sell

    Customers are looking for solutions, not just products. Developing problem-solving as a sales expertise skill sets top performers apart.

    If a client is frustrated with slow delivery, don’t just offer a faster service. Take time to understand the real issue. Is it a scheduling problem or a stock shortage? When you identify the root cause and offer the right solution, it shows you understand their world. Clients remember that approach and it strengthens trust.

    Handle Objections Calmly

    Objections are not a rejection. They are a chance to show your sales professional skills. When a client raises a concern, listen carefully and respond without getting defensive.

    For example, if a client says your product is too expensive, you could say, “I hear you. Some of our clients felt the same at first, but they found the return on investment made it worthwhile.” Handling objections in this way builds trust and can turn a maybe into a yes.

    Master the Art of Closing

    Closing a deal does not have to feel pushy. One of the best sales skills is knowing when and how to ask for a commitment.

    It is like inviting a friend to lunch. You would not nag them, but you would be clear about your plan and check if it works for them. In sales, you do the same. Be clear, confident, and considerate. Choose the right moment and make it simple for the client to say yes.

    Embrace Technology

    Technology can help you sharpen your sales expertise skills. Tools like field force automation let you track clients, schedule visits, and prioritize leads. When all your client information is in one place, you spend less time on spreadsheets and scattered notes. This gives you more time to focus on relationships and planning your approach . Getting comfortable with technology is now a key part of being an effective sales professional.

    Keep Learning and Adapting

    Sales is always evolving, and strong sales skills mean staying up to date with new strategies, tools, and customer insights. When a new app or tool makes field sales reporting easier, take time to try it out and see how it fits into your routine. The more you adjust and adapt, the sharper your sales professional skills become. Being flexible helps you handle challenges better, improve results, and make the most of your day in the field.

    What’s Next?

    Developing sales skills is not about memorizing scripts. It is about understanding people, solving problems, and using the right tools. Focusing on listening, research, time management, and technology like field force automation can improve both your results and your relationships. Think of sales as a craft. The more you practice, the better you become. Tools like Happisales help your team track, manage, and optimize each interaction, making daily work smoother and letting you apply your sales professional skills more effectively.

    You can experience Happisales yourself with a 14-day free trial and see how your field team can perform at their best. Schedule your demo today and start transforming the way your team works.

    Click here to Schedule your demo
  • Happisales or WhatsApp – The guidebook to the ideal employee tracking solution

    Happisales or WhatsApp – The guidebook to the ideal employee tracking solution

    Sales force automation, also referred to as field service management, is the latest trend that companies with a fairly good number of field force employees manage their staff with. Some of the ways you can use the tools include tracking and managing the field force include, field sales tracking, scheduling and dispatching workers, ensuring safety procedures are being followed, and managing the actual activity of field personnel. All of these aspects can then be incorporated with the management of other on-site aspects, such as billing, inventory control, and other employee systems. If proper field force management is not initiated, it can lead to customer disappointments, low productivity, and unnecessary fire-fighting scenarios.

    Because there are so many variables in field sales tracking, many firms are turning to the cloud and sales force automation software to assist, track and guarantee that all processes are happening like clockwork. A typical sales force tracker system will comprise back-end software that may be accessed via mobile apps as well as computer devices. Cloud services provide massive volumes of data gathering and analysis, making field service management easier. Organizations can predict how long a service call will take, detect reoccurring issues, and establish the optimal route for field staff to take on their tasks by analysing data. 

    A cloud-based field sales tracking solution can help organizations with:

    Intelligent scheduling: Using data analysis, the software can determine not only what field services are required, but also the optimal route for the field agent to take to get there. This enhances productivity and can help save time spent travelling. It can also assist in determining which staff is taking longer than planned to perform field service activities, allowing adequate training to be done to fix the issue.

    Real-time tracking: Companies can use Field Assist Apps to track not just the inventory or product delivery, but also what sales staff is doing in real-time. Bill payments can be handled through the app. Any issues that recur can also be tracked and handled easily. 

    Improved customer satisfaction: Organizations can easily detect and rectify problems at the customer end and minimise the number of service requests with this software. 

    Enhanced communication: By combining back-end services with simple software for field workers, businesses and employees can communicate more readily about any concerns that arise in the field. Clients benefit from this improved communication since status updates can be sent out via push-notifications. 

    Reduction in time spent and costs: Organizations can reduce their capital expenditures and make it quick and easy for field employees to retrieve information by merging numerous tools and software suites into one cloud platform.

    Can Whatsapp be used instead of a sales force automation tool?

    WhatsApp is one of the most popular instant messaging tools available in the market. It is a free tool that can be downloaded for use. WhatsApp also launched a WhatsApp Business app, a free application which can be used by small business owners to communicate with their customers, share product updates, answer queries about their services etc. This became quite popular among small business owners. However, the question arises if it can be used to track and manage sales force personnel and offer the same experience as a sales force tracker tool. We have drawn up a comparison table between a field sales tracking tool such as Happisales and WhatsApp to find out which tool offers more benefits. 

    Comparison between WhatsApp and Happisales:

    FeaturesWhatsAppHappisales
    Attendance tracking
    Location-basedNoYes
    Geo-fence restrictionNoYes
    Shift-hour basedNoYes
    Leave applicationsYesYes
    ApprovalsYesYes
    Leave balanceNoYes
    Late attendance reportNoYes
    Location Tracking
    Real-time trackingYesYes
    Real-time route markingNoYes
    Alerts and Notifications
    OTP authentication during a customer visitYesYes
    Real-time notificationsYesYes
    Task management
    Assigning tasks to field employeesNoYes
    Ticket based task managementNoYes
    Track ticketsNoYes
    Location-based task managementNoYes
    Users can add their own taskNoYes
    Recurring tasksNoYes
    Location-based lead managementNoYes
    Comprehensive DashboardNoYes
    Invoice ManagementNoYes
    Cloud-basedNoYes
    Expense ManagementNoYes
    Sales reporting
    Location-based  check-in/outNoYes
    Waiting time calculationNoYes
    Order managementYesYes
    Product catalogueYesYes
    Reporting of device’s status of the battery, internet and, GPSNoYes
    Document attachmentYesYes
    Photo uploadYesYes
    Insights
    Custom reportsNoYes
    On-demand reportsNoYes
    Downloadable reportsNoYes
    Automated reports in emailNoYes


    From this table, you can see for yourself the differences between the two tools. Happisales is clearly a superior and more complete platform that employees and management can use from anywhere. While WhatsApp is a popular messaging and communication tool, it cannot totally replace an extensive platform like Happisales. It can only be used for communication purposes and answering customer queries at the most. 

    WhatsApp cannot provide superior services that field force need to make their busy and tough lives simpler. It can probably be used as a support tool along with the main field force automation solution but it cannot totally replace it. 

    Now that you have made it till the end the post, we hope you are convinced about the multi-faceted field sales tracker tool, Happisales and would like to schedule a demo. Visit our website and get the tool customized for your organization today!

  • Is ‘Happisales’ the comprehensive field force engagement platform your business needs?

    Is ‘Happisales’ the comprehensive field force engagement platform your business needs?

    Regardless of how much the digital revolution has transformed consumer purchasing behaviour; certain things will continue to demand the active presence of humans. For example, when selling insurance, many of us prefer to speak with a human rather than a bot. We feel at ease chatting to a real creature in person, asking questions and nodding along. Some firms cannot survive in the absence of a field force. It is critical that they go door to door. Field sales has advantages and it also has disadvantages.

    Diversions are much too prevalent and thorough monitoring and tracking of your field sales reporting typically determines its success or failure, especially when you consider the number of resources going into fueling your field sales, aside from time. This covers the ongoing expenditures of fueling up field cars, as well as many others such as phone bills, meal bills, marketing material prices, and so on.

    Field force automation is a subset of management of workforce and this involves – tracking field sales, scheduling, dispatching people, ensuring safety standards are followed, and controlling field personnel’s real activities. The administration of other components on-site, such as inventory control, billing, and personnel systems, must then be merged with all of these aspects. Customer dissatisfaction, poor productivity, and unsafe circumstances can all result if adequate field force management is not implemented.

    Because there are so many aspects in field sales reporting, many companies are increasingly preferring to use the cloud and sales force automation software to keep track of everything and guarantee everything works well. Apart from this, typically an automated system also doubles down as a backend software that will often be available in both mobile applications and computer devices. Cloud services facilitate the collection, analysis of massive volumes of data, and thus making managing field staff easier.

    About happisales

    Happisales is a (an end-to-end) comprehensive field force engagement platform for field sales people, supervisors, field force manager, and higher management. The software was created with the express purpose of improving the day-to-day lives of field executives, and with our expertise in producing over 100 digital products, we did it correctly by focusing on usability, security, and scalability. Happisales frees up the salesperson’s time by automating reporting and administrative responsibilities. By gathering relevant data, Happisales field sales reporting engine assists field force managers and heads in identifying hidden opportunities and correcting problems before they occur. Happisales covers field sales executives’ end-to-end operations and assists them in increasing their productivity by reducing administrative work and closing more sales by better managing their client interactions.

     Benefits of using the happisales platform

    Now that we know a few things about field force management, let us look at the benefits of using the Happisales platform to manage the sales force. The software is designed with care to help field executives to work on what they set out to do for the day!

    1. Transparency in the organization

    Integration of back-end services with user-friendly software for field staff can enable businesses and employees to readily communicate about any concerns that may arise in the field. Businesses that have implemented a field sales reporting system can rest assured about accessing reports at any point in time and anywhere. Having instant access to reports helps sales personnel on the ground to make changes to marketing strategy, understand metrics and optimize their sales agenda to convert clients into customers.

    As a business, having transparency in all forms, be it reports or status of tasks, inventory, client closures etc also helps the employees have better faith in the business. This also enables better communication between the headquarters, the departments across the organization and the staff on the ground.

     2. Management at a push of a button

     With the data available at the push of a button, a field force manager can get an idea about where his team is or what clients they are talking to, and so many details. Even the management at a company’s headquarters sitting in another city or country can be aware of the status of the tasks. Field force managers using the field sales management software like happisales can analyze the field services that need to be carried out. This increases transparency and better management of resources.

     3. Identification of problems and materializing solutions

    By using the sales force automation software such as happisales, organizations can quickly identify problems and reduce repeated service calls. This also allows organizations to implement guided resolution steps such that it will not affect productivity and continuity of business.

     4. Highly customizable

    Field sales reporting software like happisales are very customizable and you can pick and choose the features you want to add to manage your organization. Not all businesses are the same, each one has its unique needs and demands, so such sales force automation software can be customized according to your needs.

     5. User friendly

    Needless to say, field force management software is pretty simple to use that even your staff at the end of the supply chain will be able to pick it up very quickly. You can think of arranging a session for your staff to acclimatize them to the features of the software and how they can use it.

    6. Real-time tracking

    Organizations can use field force tracking apps to track where staff is, where the company’s vehicles are, but also what tasks are being worked on at any given point in time. Payments can be processed immediately via the app instead of the staff needing to get back to the office to finish the billing. Tracking can also be done to identify any specific problems affecting the staff’s productivity so that they can be resolved sooner rather than later. Be it sales, collection, order or service, Happisales lets your field executives log data effortlessly. Set discipline right in your field activities by streamlining their tasks. The software is designed in such a way that it simplifies tasks for your field force and paves way for swift communication.

    • Live-track the journey of all your field executives     
    • Push notifications based on activities and tasks performed in the field 
    • Works even without internet access
    • Gain better customer insights

    7. Better customer engagement

    With this sales force automation software, your field executives won’t miss out on appointments. Enable them to achieve better reach, better engagement and thus achieve better results! Happisales allows the field force to set a visit/call appointment/task by themselves and their peers automatically and sync them in their work calendar. Happisales provides loads of features that help field executives to reach their customers effectively and push themselves to achieve more.

    8. Create a motivated team

    Happisales appreciates the work done by the field executives by acknowledging their personal achievements and notifying the same to their respective Team lead. The field force management software improves visibility for the field force which in turn helps them learn and perform better!

    • Individual appreciation
    • Set incentives 
    • Let individuals know where they stand in the team based on targets
    • Personalized reports

    9. Measure and track your teams’ progress 

    Progress tracking helps build better relationships and increases productivity! The field sales reporting software measures 15 parameters relevant to your field executives and monitors individual as well as their team’s progress for those parameters. Understanding the capabilities of each and every field executive helps in bringing out the best in them. Happisales provides researched information using data and facts gathered about each and every individual. This helps our field force tracking solution to create a better relationship between the field force manager and the executives.

    • Set clear targets for the field executives and track them easily
    • Get progress reports of individuals and team
    • Get customizable reports on customers 
    • ML-based suggestions

    Now that you’re pretty aware of the features of the platform called Happisales, why not schedule a demo pronto and get things rolled out as per your convenience!

  • A Business Perspective on the Benefits of Tracking People and Vehicles

    A Business Perspective on the Benefits of Tracking People and Vehicles

    Why Should You Track Your Employees?

    The ability of a business to be efficient, productive and also profitable is largely based on its ability to facilitate healthy workflows and processes for its employees to follow. However, sales processes come with a lot of unpredictability in terms of tracking employees’ movements, vehicles, and also productive time spent on selling a company’s products. Field sales tracking solutions aim to alleviate these issues, providing a comprehensive, easy to use method of tracking employees and assets in the field. If research surrounding the use of sales tracking software and field sales tracking is to be believed, the use of sales employee tracking apps can come with a multitude of benefits. It can therefore be a great advantage to any business that requires more transparency in its sales or delivery processes, ensuring that employees do not misuse company time and assets while they are in the field.

    What Can Field Sales Tracking Do?

    The many benefits that sales employee tracking apps and sales tracking software can bring include a consolidated database of sales activities and transactions that can help analytics. By having information on where, when and how sales employees are generating value for the company in the field, further optimization of sales processes can be facilitated by using field sales tracking software. This is in addition to more traditional benefits such as improved efficiency, productivity and the security of company assets. However, it is important for a business to address potential issues such as short-term costs of implementation as well as potential repercussions from employees who may see tracking software as a lack of trust in them. It is also advisable to check local laws and regulations regarding the use of tracking software.

    Simplicity and Convenience

    The benefits that field sales tracking software offer are made possible by a simple application of tracking applications that make use of the Google Maps service. The software simply relays information from a dedicated tracking device back to a central device or database, the former of which utilizes Global Positioning Software (GPS) to deliver accurate tracking information on employees and vehicles. This ensures that employees are accountable for their time in the field, but can also assist the company in creating workflows that minimize travel times and maximize the reach of its sales force. Having a dedicated sales employee tracking up can thus allow a business the flexibility to deploy its sales force in a manner that it sees fit, utilizing real-time information from sales tracking software to ensure that its sales processes are not only efficient, but also effective.

    Thus, the use of field service software can be a big advantage to a business that relies on its sales force to a large extent. It provides the advantages of optimization, accountability, transparency, efficiency and productivity of a company’s sales force while the only immediate challenges would be the cost of implementation and ensuring compliance with local laws and policies where the business operates.

    To know more about efficient employee tracking and automating your business, visit us at happisales.

  • Upcoming Trends in Field Force Automation to look forward in 2021 – 2026

    Upcoming Trends in Field Force Automation to look forward in 2021 – 2026

    Field force automation is a resource still not fully understood by most companies. Fairly explained, it is a new enterprise entity capable of aiding field service businesses in enhancing their efficiency and productivity, capturing more data than in the past. Understanding the basics of FFA can help businesses escalate their customer experiences, generate more revenue, and empower their field workforce. 

    FFA is a revolution to the working framework of the 21st century, introducing the use of Field force tracking software to bring solutions to the workforce and the managerial positions, turning their field service operations into an automated and mechanized machine. 

    The exponential increase in penetration of the Internet and digital tools, the urgency in automating repetitive tasks, the growing adoption of advanced technologies like Artificial intelligence or cloud computing are the major drivers of the growth of the global Field force automation industry. 

    The soaring need for sales force automation considerably influences market expansion, assisting sales representatives in many tasks via software like Sales force tracker. Adoption of such solutions brings an enhanced customer experience, streamlined sales, and improved workforce efficiency.

    The Global Field force automation forecast of the growth trends from 2021 to 2026 offers insightful data for business strategists, providing an overview of the growth factors, futuristic cost expectations, revenue, supply data, and demand dynamics, besides elaborately describing the value chain and distributor analysis. 

    Market statistics:

    Amidst the global pandemic crisis, the global market of FFA may reach USD 1251.33 million in 2020, which can rise to an estimated USD 1477.79 million in the year 2021. The market expects to reach USD 3453.51 million by 2026, growing at 18.43% CAGR. 

    The global report provides the market sizing and the forecast of the major currencies- USD, AUD, EUR, JPY, and GBP. The forecast allows the business leaders to make better decisions, particularly when the currency exchange data is available at their fingertips. 

    The report considers 2018 and 2019 as historical years, 2020, the base year with 2021 as the estimated year, further considering 2022 to 2026 as the forecast period. 

    The Field force automation US market is estimated to reach USD 371.8 million in 2020. China is projected to reach s size of USD 985 million by 2027, with a CAGR of 22.1% along the period 2020 – 27. 

    Notable markets also include Japan and Canada, forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 12.3% and 15.2%, respectively, with Germany estimated to grow at 13.6% CAGR. 

    Impact of the pandemic on the economy and how FFA helps work around it:

    The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the biggest crises to the human race, impacting people of all races, effectively visible in the global economies’ negative GDP growth and a rise of unemployment in developing countries. 

    There are only a few exceptions among global industries that didn’t face the Covid adversities, and the struggle may continue for some time. However, the 2021 overviews of economic dynamics have been consistently positive, with expectations of improvements in the forthcoming months. 

    Technology can play a vital role in curbing pandemic distress to a large extent. Companies deploy large and innovative Field force tracking solutions to manage the sales operations. The field force management effectively provides real-time solutions to the most critical challenges of businesses amidst the pandemic.

    • We are ensuring the wellbeing of the workforce by the use of advanced sales force automation solutions. 
    • We create a well-established connection with the field team via the Sales force tracker.
    • The field force automation solutions are effective in providing automation during order placement or fulfillment without manual attention. 
    • The sales force automation solutions provide integration of cutting-edge data analytics platforms, measuring the COVID impact.

    Market Segments:

    The global forecast of the Field force automation solution market categorizes the growth trends and revenue based on the following submarkets-

    • The global market across large, medium and small enterprises can overlap organizational size. 
    • Based on deployment, the market use On-premises and On-cloud. 
    • On a vertical basis, the market runs across Real Estate, Energy Sectors, Healthcare, IT, Manufacturing, and Transportation. 
    • Based on geography, the global market across the nations of America (Canada, Brazil, Mexico, US, and Argentina), Europe (UK, Italy, Germany, and France), Asia-Pacific (India, Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, and Taiwan), Middle East (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE) & Africa.

    Growth Trends:

    • Inventory Management – Deployment of inventory management solutions can aid service to offer cost-effectiveness to customers, simplify management services for technicians in several V2B operations, and ease operations in the healthcare sector. The introduction of AI in cloud-based solutions may aid small and large firms in managing their field workforce. 
    • Significant Growth Rate – The Asia-Pacific region can rise due to many SMEs adopting field service management solutions. The global expansion is s major driver for adopting Field force automation solutions, inducing the growth of such solutions’ requirements. 
    • Competitive Landscape – The market landscape of sales force management is quite fragmented, with existing prepackaged solutions but no sole vendor dominating the market. There exist several mergers and collaborations in the market. 

    Conclusion:

    The Field service management firms are witnessing immense pressure to effectively lead teams, ensure their safety, and comply with the regulations of the pandemic. Such a situation cannot get burdened with miscommunication or distrust. 

    It is a high time of distress and crisis, exacerbating fear and distrust, a critical period that calls for emphasizing confidence development within organizations. In the current wake of the Covid pandemic, the estimated growth of Field force automation may further rise, with the pandemic restricting the effective management of remote fieldwork.

    The pandemic has led to limitations in field services, a substantial boost to the adoption of FSM solutions. Such deployment offers better service experiences, including automation in customer communications and feedback capabilities to the current workflow that can elevate your business. Do check out our blogs for more valuable insights.

  • Advantages of Deploying Cloud-based Field service software

    Advantages of Deploying Cloud-based Field service software

    Field service management, at its most basic level, is a system that maintains track of all aspects of a company’s field activities. Field service management may contain additional key components, depending on the industry. The objective of field service management is to efficiently integrate field activities with invoicing, accounting, and other systems in the office.

    Customers are coming to anticipate this field service management software as a standard component of their service as it becomes more widely available. According to studies, 89% of clients want contemporary technology, such as that used in on-demand ride-sharing services, applied to technician scheduling, and almost as many are ready to pay a premium for it.

    What is cloud based field service software?

    Field force automation is the online management of processes or corporate assets outside of the office. Remote customer service, inspections, maintenance, logistics, and quality assurance are some examples of field service types.

    Cloud based field service software enables field workers to carry out their responsibilities more quickly. Employees may check in with the office remotely, access customer data, and more thanks to the field service management software‘s mobility. The software is used by a variety of sectors to track and manage many aspects of their processes.

    A good field force automation software takes advantage of technology advancements in mobile connectivity and automation to solve problems in the field.

     Advantages of deploying one

    The most noteworthy benefit of using a sales employee tracking app is greater efficiency. For example, when your sales agent in the field is sent out to do a specific task, recording location, client details, and other related data by hand can take up a startlingly large amount of time. If that data is recorded manually, you can find yourself having to deal with issues of data loss caused by ink smears/smudges, water spots, or even having to handle the loss of the hardcopies. This can prevent data from being used or analyzed in any way. Field service companies can take advantage of combining customizing their field service management software to suit their needs. Using multiple features in concert helps create a unified and consistent workflow that is more efficient and provides better data for more intelligent business decisions and insights without relying on team members from multiple departments exporting information into an obsolete system.

    Field service management is critical to the business operations of organizations. With a field service software like Happisales, it becomes easier to handle everything. Learn more about our offerings by scheduling a free demo today!

  • Can a field scheduling software help mitigate business risk?

    Can a field scheduling software help mitigate business risk?

    Business enterprises confront a slew of risks that must be managed properly at virtually every stage of their operations. Traditionally, many of these risks have been handled by making changes to the planning, sourcing, and manufacturing execution processes. The selling process is one area where there is a lot of room for mitigation in this respect. A field force automation tool can help greatly in working on activities that are counter-productive on a daily basis. From expensive communication lapses to out-and-out theft, a field service management solution can save your business from heavy expenses. With every success, there are innumerable risks that threaten since the beginning. Risks are so common in every business activity that they’ve become an inherent part of the corporate landscape. Companies big and small are equally concerned with risks and are actively searching for ways to mitigate as well as minimize the frequency of risks in business.

    Choosing the best solution for your sector, in terms of security measures and features, is critical. Read further to find out how field service software can help you mitigate business risk

    What is field service software?

    Field service software is designed to help an organisation manage staff activities and work schedules. Also referred to as sales tracking software, this solution is quite popular among field service firms. It can assist in decreasing expenses and increasing efficiency. Furthermore, the software can help with asset tracking, resource dispatch, staff safety, inventory support and integration, and back-end solutions. Businesses may use such a system to access consumer data, manage orders efficiently, and execute route planning and review at a low cost.

    How can sales tracking software help?

    It can help you identify the risks – this is basically the first step towards providing any remedies for the various risks.

    The next step is to analyse. This is critical to understand the nature of the problem

    Subsequently, you can respond to the risk identified and analysed with measures to mitigate and minimize future occurrences.

    The final step is to monitor and control. This is done via regular reports on task progress to comprehensively alleviate risk. 

    • Effective and Smooth Scheduling

    Scheduling may be one of the most time-consuming activities for a manager, whether you’re seeking to cover shifts at a restaurant or aligning your field service personnel with a week’s client demands. The fact that many individuals try to handle this process using basic spreadsheets makes it much more laborious and leaves more potential for error.

    When you select a tool that does not track field sales reporting automatically to construct your timetable, you may encounter issues. Visual signals and drag-and-drop capabilities in the field service management software lets you rapidly construct realistic schedules without typical mistakes like duplicate booking.

    • Skill-based task assignment

    To make scheduling even more efficient, sales tracking software allows you to create rule sets. These rulesets decrease the chances of scheduling the wrong person for a task or having someone manage an installation before the proper equipment arrives. You can also use filters and tags to assist managers in swiftly selecting the best resources for a project. You may, for example, send a plumber with shower and tub installation knowledge, someone who you may have previously categorised as good with fearful or fussy customers. Assigning tasks based on your personnel’s skill will help mitigate any customer complaints you may get, you can be assured of the personnel doing a great job at the task assigned. 

    • Real-time data tracking

    A field service management software tool can notify you if the team is involved in a new task in the coming days. Field sales reporting solutions minimise overall friction in all of your processes by bringing teams together so that everyone is on the same page about priorities and scheduling. Employees know they’ll get updates on new priorities as quickly as possible, allowing them to focus on their task without worrying about surprises at work or if they’re going to the correct client next. It’s typical for field reps and others who don’t work in the main office to feel disconnected from communications, which can diminish their value.

    •  Transparency across departments

    Thanks to the availability of data on the sales tracking software system, every department has access to all the data in real-time and your managers and superiors can assess where a specific task is at, at any given point in time. The centralization of the system makes this possible – data access anytime anywhere thereby bringing transparency across different departments that are involved in the same project.  

    A field service software surely can, in a nutshell, identify risks, assess their likelihood and effect, link them to mitigating measures, and follow their resolution. If you are keen on alleviating the risks to your business and would like to know more about this solution, visit Happisales and schedule a demo today!

  • A list of 7 business problems that sales force automation can help resolve

    A list of 7 business problems that sales force automation can help resolve

    Before we go to the real deal, one must understand the importance of a sales team to a business, more importantly, the process behind it. A business is a business when it can reach a point which works out the term “doing business”. Regardless of its funding, ideology, innovation, essence, team, players and probably a sales force automation system in place – it could still be considered an establishment. 

    Sales are when an establishment turns into a business!

    With that said, one of the most diligent works of a business is to convert its idea into a sale. Be it a B2B or a B2C, setting up a proper sales team – field sales and behind the desk support is an essential part of any working business model. But it does not come easy. Managing a team of 100 for a generic product or maybe even 10 while dealing with a niche market can be tricky.

    Team Morale

    Attrition levels

    Management ideologies

    Transparency

    Are all a part of the deal. The aforementioned are just the upper layers for the management to take note of while there are certain intricate points that would make the pillar foundations. 

    Here are a few of them and how they could be managed effectively with a sales force automation system!

    Planning & Execution

    One of the most important processes in a running business is the sales and revenue forecast for the upcoming financial year. One can often find businesses taking to the last quarter of the present year to take a dive into predicting the fortunes of the upcoming year. With all due respect to the marketing team, it is with no doubt that the entire team would have their hands full and put in the extra time needed to complete the sales part of the upcoming year. This is quite an important part, as the entire process of the business – be in production, procurement, distribution and so on highly depend on the charts to plan for their challenges ahead.

    The sales force tracker app is arguably the most helpful tool for the management team during this time period. The information collected such as – 

    1. Orders received
    2. Credit period,
    3. Customers requirements, 
    4. New leads, 
    5. Production units to match requirements 
    6. Raw materials procurement quantity., etc. 

    can all be mapped with utmost precision. Even though it may not bring 100% surety on the realised papers, it could still be better and more efficient than manual charting.

    Say no to manual inputs

    No more manual inputs. Any business and its transactions have been dependent on the ink and pen of the employees since the days of the kings. In such cases, the numbers and details are bound to have a few human errors. Even if not, it is without doubt time-consuming. Sales force automation takes this challenge very seriously. 

    Sales force automation can help eradicate such fallacies on a larger scale. Everything right from orders/sales coming in, personnel handling the order/sales, and cash flow received through such sales are tracked in real-time by the sales force tracker apps. This helps in providing in-depth high-quality information in automated real-time and avoid any possibilities of human error. With the inputs being automated and filed in lieu of the “order tree”, the need for any manual input is minimised if not eradicated completely(depending on the feature of your app).

    Manage your sales crew

    A Field Sales Mobile App can double down as a workforce management app as well. Assigning everyday tasks, tracking their status and having to understand the EOD status day in and day out can be done in a jiffy. Say no to status calls and morning meets. Manage your team on the go anywhere and anytime. 10 or 100, no matter the size of your crew, automation software got your back!

    Interdepartmental connect

    Running a successful business is a team effort. By team, it is not only the employees that matter but also the various departments pulling the core together in the same direction. 

    Imagine a production department having no idea what the marketing team has just sold for an order. Even worse would be when the production department had no means of power to match the new order. Such a scenario would be a disaster to the brand image. 

    Sales force automation brings a sense of transparency between all departments. The production team would have the exact number of commodities that they would need to produce for a said customer right on the day of the order. This would help them prioritise their schedules in advance rather than panic at a brief moment’s notice. Such a process would ensure a smooth running of the business line and could help deliver orders more swiftly.

    Real-time salesperson tracking

    Have no idea where your crew are?

    Are you uncertain about your team’s location? 

    Worried if they are okay?

    The sales force tracker app has it covered for you. The GPS tracking utility enabled in the app helps you track your team members effortlessly. Consider it more like tracking your Swiggy order, but a little more to track your team members. Before you go sceptical about the privacy concerns – we would like to share a few words to help you ease it out. 

    “It’s not stalking if they know” 

    Lead Generation, Client management and automated reports

    If you are here having made it through this essay, it would not be much of a surprise that everything right from procuring a lead to the invoice raised on the first billing would be tracked in the automation process. Even customer queries can fall right into the concerned RM’s task directly. This helps attend to customer needs and generate quick reports then and there. The next time your team tries to procrastinate his sales report, you would know what to do!

    And that’s that for starters. If you are really interested in reading more about the impact of sales force automation, try choosing a few more from our blog page. And if you are already interested in getting your sales team fully automated and reap its benefits, feel free to contact us at happisales – Your one-stop shop for all your automation needs!

  • How much can the work force management software help the e-commerce industry

    How much can the work force management software help the e-commerce industry

    E-commerce in India has changed the ways of shopping. With hot debates making rounds about it bringing an end to the retail market, the industry was a pioneer in making full use of sales force automation techniques even before the concept deepened its roots in the Indian market.

    What was once seen as a sceptical chain of business has reinvented ways to cater to the needs of the open public. Although it had its inception in the mid 90’s it wasn’t until the industry started focusing more on the B2C markets. Players such as Myntra (est.2007), Flipkart (est.2007) and Amazon India (est. 2012) focused more on tapping the inclusive market of the country’s population. Households had more access to high-speed internet and the business quickly emerged as one of the key players in the Indian Economy. 

    Apart from the giants, business chains that were once exclusive retail only establishments have jumped onto the bandwagon citing opportunities to vast coverage than to restrict their clientele in and around their establishments.

    Challenges in the Industry & workforce management

    India is a huge market with a population of 1.3 billion with almost 25% of the population preferring to shop online. With ISP providers like Jio penetrating the rural consumer market, the E-commerce market in India is touted to grow as much as 51% in the upcoming years. But operating in a competitive market of the world’s seventh-largest country would be no easy task. 

    It would take a great deal of management, workforce and financial resources to make things work. Here is where workforce management software takes its high stand. Here are a few ways by which the e-commerce industries can make things work through such a utility.

    Cut down expenditure

    Every e-commerce industry in the country has its very own sales force automation today – be it a single business line, or an establishment like Amazon dealing as a one-stop window for all. One of the biggest plus sides of having workforce management software is arguably its ability to track expenses in real-time. This would reduce human errors such as duplication, input errors etc. 

    For example, any and every expense in the daily operations can be tagged to a QR code or have an existing data log – Wages per hour for the field sales team can be 40 INR while wages per hour for management crew could be 45 INR. Any personnel tagging into the quota would be paid a precise amount for his time logged through the tracking system. This would cut down any possibilities of manual errors that would reflect hugely on the financial reports. This may not sound like a big deal, but any E-com establishments serving such a vast landmass as India would benefit from such a system.

    Adaptable operational process

    As its name suggests, workforce management software is ideally suited to manage your workforce. As lame as the definition sounds, its utility as an embedded operating system in your e-commerce establishment can make the difference between a successful business and a total train wreck. 

    The E-commerce industry in India is one of the biggest employers of the country. People from various educational and skill backgrounds work under one big roof to scale the business in various forms. Managing such a crew manually would be a tiring task considering the magnitude of both the manpower and business goals in hand. A workforce management software helps track the employees and keeps tabs on all their information from their respective resumes. This way you could filter out a management guy from a field delivery guy and use their skills with more respect and responsibility.

    Improved productivity

    This would be more of a result of a butterfly effect. A Field Service software implemented business establishment, would have excellent productivity and a higher efficiency rate. How you may ask!

    Inefficiency from the workforce is usually a sign of uninterested employees. This may predominantly prevail due to the reason that an employee has been put into a task that doesn’t quite fill up his day. 

    Here is where workforce management software helps you with it. As mentioned in the point above, the software helps find the right people in the employed unions and match them with the right JD. This would not only reduce their induction time but would also get the department up and running swiftly. The upper management can also keep track of the task completed and the hours of work put in by every employee in the organisation. The best part about it is that the management could shuffle around their resources (without having to hire or fire) until they feel that the units are working to their full potential. Thanks to the management app, this could now be done smarter and faster than ever before.

    Happy customers

    Happy customers are a happy profit sheet. If you were a user of an e-commerce website like Amazon or Myntra, you would surely adapt to their heavy backend support. Serving a country with a pop of 1.3 Billion would be a huge task and attending to every one of the customers is what makes the business capture the Indian E-commerce market. 

    The field sales mobile app makes this possible. With every query guided automatically to any free back end officer, customer queries are handled almost instantly. The entire data such as the order date, delivery date, of the good purchases is right in front of the attending officer. This would help reduce the time spent in addressing a customer query and increase the number of customer queries attended. One more loyal customer in the shopping bag!

    These are just a few of the many good things that can come out of implementing a workforce management system in your E-commerce business. But there is much more than where such an app came from. If you are an establishment looking to automate your business, we are here to help! – Happisales

  • Top 4 benefits of field force automation in the logistics industry

    Top 4 benefits of field force automation in the logistics industry

    The modern world is automated in many ways and the Indian logistics sector is no different. Location intelligence utilities like the field service management software have taken the sector to new heights. Cutting short the costs incurred and maximising the profit margins, one is certain of its ability to put a smile on the upper-level management.

    The Indian logistics industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the country today. Despite the discomforts caused by the relentless pandemic, the industry still manages to function to its full potential. One of the primary reasons for the sector’s independence is the dependence of the other sectors over it. Be it agriculture, manufacturing, e-commerce, or retail – logistics is one sector that gets its work done.

    LOCATION INTELLIGENCE FOR THE WIN! – THE OTHER SIDE OF THE INDUSTRY

    But with great power, comes greater responsibility or so to speak. With such a noble sector working its wonders in the economy, certain challenges can prove to be constant troublemakers. On-time delivery is the essence of a logistics business and its major goal would be to strive towards it no matter the consequences. 

    The success of such a business is measured by its ability to manage and deliver its shipments without damage and at the right time. This might be a heft task considering the vast landmass, such a business covered with such little manpower to take. This is where sales force automation through location intelligence helps move boulders and mountains. But what exactly is Location Intelligence?

    Location Intelligence (LI) is putting together the information collected – Geographical visuals, and business numbers from a particular location or a select area. Location intelligence plays a key role in understanding the various aspects of the logistics business at an in-depth level and helps plan better. Here are a few ways how sales force automation through location intelligence can help take the cake in the business.

    On-time delivery

    One of the most important traits of a successful logistics business is its ability to ensure on-time delivery given any state of odds. An implementation of a field service management software would make things more streamlined. While serving a country as vast as India, it would need more effort to keep track of all the deliveries to be made.

    Field force automation gives an added leverage to the crew to understand the flow pipeline better and prepare themselves better for spotless on-time delivery. This is possible due to the information picked up by the field service management software.

    Information such as 

    • date of order placed
    • pickup location
    • transit route
    • warehouse check-in, 
    • regional transportation 
    • local mobility

    can all be streamlined together to calculate the right delivery time, ensuring the management to focus on working towards it. Choosing a closer warehouse to the delivery location, or choosing an alternate route to make things quicker can all be perfected via field force automation. A perfect example of this would be tracker apps used on Myntra or Amazon. 

    Finding the best possible route

    Let us all be transparent here. Apart from agriculture, logistics is the next business that can be affected by an act of god. An unforeseen downpour, a tropical storm, or border politics can hamper the business to great extents. Although field force automation can neither change the weather nor ease up political ties, it does help the management and the crew to find alternate routes to circumvent the difficulties that lay ahead. A shipment that was to reach Bengaluru can either be routed through Mumbai or Hyderabad. Picking the best possible route considering the current scenario between the two can help either fasten delivery or go around an inevitable hurdle. The ability to have ready-to use plans on the field force management software can give the team and the crew to jolt down the best possible route without any hassle.

    Optimization of fixed costs

    As mentioned earlier, one of the biggest contributors to such a business’s expenses is its fixed costs. The fixed costs in a logistics business are its Depreciation, Driver salary, Fuel, Toll charges, Maintenance and services. Even though field force automation cannot eradicate it, but can help the management keep tabs on its expenses. Taking a deep dive into the information provided on the field force service software can help find the best possible ways to cut down the costs. An example would be to take a shorter route and reduce the cost of fuel, and average it out through other means of movement so that the combined expenses of these two would still be lesser than what it was earlier. In a way, such use of field service software can help make informed decisions keeping in mind the essence of on-time delivery of the establishment.

    Care for your people

    The best business is run by its people. Some of the successful businesses around the globe understand the importance of their contributors. With that in mind, the most important people in the logistics business are its front end workers. Drivers and delivery agents working around the clock to keep that brand identity alive are one of the prime concerns for the business. The field force management software helps keep track of the company’s agents anywhere and anytime. This would help send aid in times of need. A vehicle breakdown or an unforeseen accident on perilous roads could catch the eyes of the management very quickly. This would in turn help them dispatch aid swiftly and might save lives in such dire circumstances.

    We at happisales strive to be the forerunners of GPS tracking software and sales tracking software. We live in the modern world and we believe it is time for businesses around the globe to take giant strides in the phase of evolution. If you are looking for a sales force tracker app or a field force management software, we would be glad to help with a demo of our product. Feel free to contact us at Happisales, you are one step closer to the new world of automation.